I really enjoy when publishers experiment with classic IP in new, interesting ways.

For Mario, Nintendo iterate all the time, whether it’s Mario Golf or Mario Party. Even the classic platforming format gets mixed up. And who can forget a point and click adventure – Mario is Missing.

PAC-MAN has sort of travelled a similar path. Ultimately, yes, most games have centered around his maze excursions but you’ve also got the likes of a side-scrolling platform – PAC-Land – and even Pac-Man Rally.

Shadow Labyrinth is definitely one of the most unique, and unusual though. There’s even been a TV pilot for it within Amazon Prime’s Secret Level. Remember that PAC-MAN Circle episode? It sets up the events of the game.

But if you haven’t seen it, that’s also fine. It’s not required watching, though it might help explain just what the heck is going on here. A little bit, at least.

So you don’t actually play as PAC-MAN – or PUCK we will say for the rest of this article – or rather you kind of do, but most of your actions are through Master Swordsman 08. The character is purposefully engimatic and identity obscured because, well, that’s all part of the mystery and you stumble upon PUCK on a planet you’ve crash-landed onto.

The game immediately screams Metroid vibes at you, even down to its sound effects, and those who’ve played games such as Dead Cells and Hollow Knight will immediately feel quite at home with the game loop as you hack, slash, dodge and shift your way through all sorts of mech-like, alien creatures.

But this shouldn’t just be cast aside as a typical, seen-it-all-before, Metroidvania, as Shadow Labyrinth does some clever interesting things with the concept, all while maintaining the essence of PUCK throughout. For instance, later into the game you’ll need to access what’s known as a D-Rail and can transform into PUCK, chattering along the rail in true PAC-MAN style, collecting Ora.

This also enables you to reach harder to reach areas as you shrink down from your Swordsman form and travel along the rail which can take you higher, then jump from the rail to reach previously unreachable platforms. You can even attack as PUCK if there’s enemies nearby, seamlessly switching between Swordsman and PUCK form.

But you can also switch into GAIA, a large mech like beast to pass through more open areas where there’s tougher enemies and even bosses and power your way through for a very short time.

The thing that really surprises you with Shadow Labyrinth though, are the random, unexpected effects of your actions as you progress and the story moves forward. You’ll see some pretty surprising things as you progress and the gameplay also takes some unexpected directions which I cannot and will not spoil for you here. But Bandai have really tried to craft something quite bespoke with this one.

In many ways, they’ve absolutely succeeded with that. I really enjoyed Shadow Labyrinth, the idea of consuming your enemies to build up your meters is a smart way to stay ahead and being able to level up your abilities as you move onward is a great incentive to keep retrying and grinding. There’s a sort of classic RPG feel to that, as this game, even on the lowest difficulties, is tough.

There’s a precision to it you need to get down, like finding the correct placement for your jumps, being ready to press the attack button at the precise moment, doing your best to avoid damage. And once the game opens up past its initial tutorial sections, you can actually feel a little bit overwhelmed. Which, I feel, is where the game does start to come unstuck a little bit.

At times, I feel like Shadow Labyrinth tries to be a bit too ambitious with its ideas and scope. In typical Metroidvania style, of course, certain areas won’t open up to you until you get certain upgrades, so there will be backtracking, but I found it wasn’t always clear which direction I needed to go. This is a bit by design, the developers want to encourage you to explore, try different approaches, go up one time, down another. But you never know what you’ll run into and save points are sometimes pretty spread out, so you often find you’ll be going through the same sections over and over.

If that sounds a bit like another Bandai property, then you’re starting to think like the game hopes. Without saying too much, this game is full of references, nods and links to games you’ve played. Some that are even incredibly obscure and are going to require quite an extensive knowledge of your Namco history.

But it’s all done in service of PAC-MAN’s 45th Anniversary and if you’ve been playing these games all this time, while the challenge might seem rough, you’re going to find a lot to like and smile about it here. Shadow Labyrinth is a celebration of a body of work that has been critically important to the games and arcade industry and it’s all been bundled up in a modern reinvention of several properties that can suit a sizeable playerbase.

I loved the in-game references I found here and found myself raising eyebrows at a few of the narrative twists, while also gasping at the way gameplay takes a turn. But I also huffed and puffed through quite a bit of the game too, occassionally frustrated at getting lost or fighting through the same sections, getting battled back by the same enemies. To me, the game is actually at its strongest when it’s a bit more linear as it feels tighter and the level design better.

When dodging or performing certain moves, even when consuming health, the game seems to freeze your character into position and it leaves them open and vulnerable to counter attacks pretty quickly. With the kind of attacks you often deal with, even very early into the game, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can get overwhelmed.

The map is a nice tool and you can pick up map markers to help pinpoint where you need to go, as well as change layers but I also didn’t find it helpful in certain scenarios, especially the more open areas as it can sometimes feel a bit unclear if there’s more to explore above or below.

But this game is also full of smart ideas, such as equipping perks and building up skills, that can make the gameplay experience faster and more fun in some cases. It also lends itself to experimenting and trying new things so you can really optimise your approach and what works best for you.

Shadow Labyrinth is certainly one of the most interesting games I’ve played in the genre. Unexpected in many ways, but also really does a great job of building and brewing atmosphere with its melodic sound track, moody aesthetic, but equally chirpy chip-tune like sound effects that really pang the nostalgia note in your brain. This is also a perfect handheld game and plays like butter on Switch 2.

If you’ve ever played or loved a Bandai Namco game, this is a wonderful celebration of their IP and an intriguing game that is filled with deeply layered secrets even hardcore fans will be combing through to interpret and unpack for a long time to come.

Verdict

Shadow Labyrinth is often experimental, surprisingly expansive, and intriguingly designed with easter eggs and secrets deeply buried and coded into its DNA. The game is often at its best when it takes a more linear approach and does come a bit unstuck by its ambition when it tries to take on too much. Despite its challenging difficulty, and some control frustration, there’s a lot to unpack and enjoy with Shadow Labyrinth that makes it a must if you’ve been a long-term fan of the yellow dot and Bandai Namco games, or you’re just looking for an interesting new Metroidvania that tries to do things a little bit differently.

Pros

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Shadow Labyrinth is out July 18 on PC, PS, Xbox and Switch 1/2

Played on Nintendo Switch 2

Code kindly provided by Bandai Namco for review purposes